Authentic Vietnamese Drip Coffee Method and Vietnamese Phin Filter Usage Guide

Vietnamese people did not drink coffee to begin with. It was the French who brought coffee to Vietnam, and from there it gradually wove itself into everyday life. Mention "Vietnamese coffee" and most people immediately think of Robusta—understandably so, since nearly 97% of the millions of tons of coffee Vietnam produces each year is Robusta. Vietnam's total output is far smaller than Brazil's, but narrow the field to Robusta alone and Vietnam is unquestionably the world's number one producer.

Vietnamese Coffee: More Than Just Beans

It is worth knowing that "Vietnamese coffee" does not simply mean coffee grown and exported from Vietnam; the phrase also describes a distinct local way of drinking it. From the coffee lounges of upscale hotels to unassuming street-corner stalls, you can find this specialty that belongs only to Vietnam. It is built on just two things: condensed milk and black coffee. The black coffee is dark-roasted Robusta, and deep roasting gives it a bracing, intense bitterness. Condensed milk is added to tame that bite. The collision of condensed milk and Robusta yields a flavor that is at once sweet and rich.

The Phin Filter: The Soul of Vietnamese Coffee

But coffee plus condensed milk alone would not be enough to make Vietnam's specialty its own. Here we have to talk about the brewing tool Vietnamese people use to extract coffee—the phin filter. This little device, which looks rather like a cup, is the heart and soul of Vietnamese coffee.

In some ways the phin is itself a kind of dripper, since it, too, brews by dripping. It has three main parts: the filter body, the press plate, and the lid. Using it is simple: put the coffee grounds into the filter, press them firmly with the press plate, then pour in hot water and wait for the coffee to seep through.

Because the holes are not especially fine, some smaller coffee particles will slip through. Do not worry—once the grounds are pressed firmly, very little escapes. Rather than giving the cup an unpleasant texture, this actually adds body, even if the coffee looks a little cloudy. So let FrontStreet Coffee show you how to make traditional Vietnamese coffee.

How to Make Traditional Vietnamese Coffee

First, let us set out the brewing parameters. The phin is a classic drip-style device, so it is simpler and more straightforward to use than most methods. We merely need to nudge extraction efficiency up a little; after all, the water flow never disturbs the coffee bed, so there is no agitation to help things along. FrontStreet Coffee uses these parameters:

Beans used: Sumatra · Golden Mandheling
Grind setting: EK43 setting 10.5, raw-sugar coarseness, 70% passing a #20 sieve
Dose: 15g
Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:10
Brewing water temperature: 94°C

Next, set out a vessel to catch the coffee, and put the condensed milk in it ahead of time. FrontStreet Coffee uses 10ml of condensed milk here, which gives a moderate sweetness once the coffee is made. Add as much as you like.

With everything ready, set the phin on the vessel and pour in the grounds.

Gently tap the grounds level, lay the press plate flat into the filter and press it down firmly—this keeps too much coffee powder from falling through. The pressure you apply also changes the density of the coffee bed: press harder and the water flows more slowly. FrontStreet Coffee generally presses down to its tightest setting, so there is little risk of under-extraction. Now pour in the water.

Finally, put on the lid. The lid is not there to keep the water hot—it is there to stop the press plate from floating up. When you pour in hot water the press plate rises; without a lid to hold it down, it can easily scatter grounds everywhere.

Once the lid is on, simply wait for the coffee to finish dripping, and a cup of Vietnamese coffee is ready.

When you drink it, do not stir—sip slowly from top to bottom to taste the layers of strength and sweetness shift from light to deep. If the bitterness is too much for you, though, a quick stir with a spoon will even it out.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

A cup like this lives or dies by the coffee underneath it, so it is worth starting with something rich, low in acidity, and generous in body. FrontStreet Coffee's Brazil Cerrado, a semi-washed single origin, is an easy first step: a classic red Bourbon from the well-known Cerrado region, roasted to a medium level, it delivers creamy peanut, toasted bread, caramel, and hazelnut aromas with a round, smooth body, little acidity, and a gentle bitter edge—and it works equally well in a phin-style drip, a moka pot, an espresso SOE setup, a siphon, or a French press. If you would rather lean into the sweet, chocolatey side that pairs so well with condensed milk, FrontStreet Brazil Queen Estate Yellow Bourbon from Mogiana is a rare yellow Bourbon whose cleaner fruit character brings a sugarcane-like freshness alongside fruit and chocolate notes. For a thicker, more milk-friendly base, FrontStreet's Brazil-built espresso blends are the natural choice: the Classic Blend for its abundant crema, the Premium Blend for its pronounced nuttiness, and the Black Cocoa Blend for its even balance—each carries Brazil beans that contribute chocolate and cream aromas and a soft, balanced sweet-sour-bitter profile that stays stable in the cup.